yes: classic or dud? search and destroy

Allegedly the early albums are pretty good, but I haven't yet investigated.

The trailer to the movie 'Buffalo 66' makes PERFECT use of "Heart of the Sunrise": that's when I actually set abt repurchasing LPs not heard for nearly a decade and a half. (In the movie itself, the use of "Heart" is nothing like so great.)

Achilles heel: Rick Wakeman. Whatever the Prog equivalent of "4 Real" is, he only pretended to carve it somewhere, made a spectacle of himself being a fat drunk, made a spectacle of himself in recovery, played everything he did as a grand oafish joke, and appeared in and wrote music for several Ken Russell movies, which is taking the piss in anyone's language. By contrast, Jon Anderson is a naked fool, but a fool committed to a VISION of SOMETHING NO ONE ELSE UNDERSTANDS. Classic.

Search: Yes, The Yes Album, Fragile, Close to the edge.

Search if it's like a quid at a market stall: Tales from topographic oceans (1 good album spread haphazardly across 2 LP records - beats thee a$$ off "sandinista!" - 1 good ep spread across *3* LP records!) "going for the one" (because "awaken" is really nice, tho the rest of the album sucks)

Destroy: EVERYTHING after "going for the one" ALL LIVE ALBUMS.

IMO "yes" is one of the best band names ever

x0x0

Yes do however bring back happy memories of 6th form common room battles between the Proggers and the Punks. Best moment was when a copy of Dark Side of the Moon was hurled from a third floor window to arc gracefully across the yard and land gently in muddy puddle. As one of the proggers ran out to retrieve it, it was followed by "Wish You were Here" and, if I'm not mistaken, "Tales from Topographic Oceans".

Now Dr.C what's the deal with Dark Side of the Moon? ;)

what is sixth form?

On Ice. In Capes.

Oh yeah... Yes are more PUNK ROCK than PUNK ROCK. Well, Rick Wakeman is anyway. Also, when concerning Yes, boring facts don't matter. The fun stuff counts double though. Because its prog.

I'm tired.

Search: THE YES ALBUM (esp 'Starship Trooper' and 'Roundabout') Destroy: BIG GENERATOR

o_O

STEVE HOWE, CHRIS SQUIRE AND ALAN WHITE OF GROUNDBREAKING ROCK GROUP YES UNITE FOR “IN THE PRESENT” U.S. TOUR
Members will be joined by Oliver Wakeman on keyboards and vocalist Benoit David to perform the group’s classic repertoire in live spectacular

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 10, 2008—Albums like Fragile, Close to the Edge Tales from Topographic Oceans and 90125 and singles such as “Roundabout,” “Owner of a Lonely Heart” and “I’ve Seen All Good People” are just some of the enduring classics that have made YES one of the most influential and groundbreaking groups in rock & roll. Now, the classic YES line-up of guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White will launch the "In The Present" tour starting November 4th in Hamilton, Ontario, marking yet another chapter in the art-rockers’ amazing, 40-year career of legendary live performances. The three will be joined by keyboardist Oliver Wakeman, the son of YES’ Rick Wakeman, and vocalist Benoit David, a Montreal, Quebec, native and vocalist in several YES tribute groups, who was discovered by the band on the Internet.

someone's not happy

September 18, 2008

Disappointed, and very Disrespected

Disappointed that, with the exception of one phone call from Alan, none of the guys have been in touch since my illness, just to find out how I am doing, and how we will foresee the future for YES. And disappointed that they were not willing to wait till 2009 when I’m fully recovered.

And I feel very disrespected, having spent most of this year creating songs and constant ideas for the band, spending time with Roger Dean creating a stage design, also working with VH1 and Sirius and XM Radio to help promote the welfare of YES.

Getting sick was not "on my radar”, and I thank my own angel Janeee and my family for helping me through this difficult time, and the many well wishers, friends and fans alike, for understanding that ''things happen''.

Of course I wish the guys all the best in their 'solo' work, but I just wish this could have been done in a more gentlemanly fashion. After all YES is a precious musical band.

This is not YES on tour...

I send best wishes to one and all,

Jon Anderson
September 2008

What's Trevor Horn doing other than swimming in his big pile of money? Come on guys, time for a Drama tour

otm

bring back moraz

One gets the distinct impression that they aren't the classiest bunch of ppl out there, eh.

I had "Going for the One" on in the car on the way in this AM. Pretty weak album overall, but my got that "Awaken" track brings it. Probably the last totally awesome thing they recorded?

got god

In 2 words: Bruford-Squire. Everything else... pass. I still love Rickenbackers.

Douchebag move by Squire. I get the picture that he is essentially "Yes", at least when it comes to decisions like this.

What's Trevor Horn doing other than swimming in his big pile of money?

According to his Wikipedia page, in 2006 his wife was the victim of a particularly horrible accident: "[She] has been in a deep coma since and, as of September 2007, it is not clear whether she will recover."

here's the freaky tribute band replacement for anderson, does sound like the dude

All Yes albums on sale now! Long-gone New York City area record store chain.

Siberian Khatru just came up on shuffle and OMG this is so awesome! In the 10s, Prog will become the new cool thing, mark my words. (I wish.)

Yes bass is as funky as Parliament's.

no it will, people will realise the limitations of verse-chorus and seek thornier fixes

l0u1s jagg3r = prophet.

Mid 10s zeitgeist bands sounding like Magma meets Max Tundra here we come.

Hah when you type Louis Ja... it comes out like that! How about it.

jeez, i don't know what came over me there :/

I'm not sure either, to be honest.

probably a suggest ban amirite

anyway

Mid 10s zeitgeist bands sounding like Magma meets Max Tundra here we come.

this could be pretty cool. throw in a bit of neurosis and a dash of the fall and we're talking

For you or for me? Let's not get carried away here. All good tidings on ILM...

xpost to 'probably a suggest ban amirite'

anyway yeah <3 and all that. you should come to FAPs more often! also you should listen to Van der Graaf Generator, they're where you go when you graduate from Yes

although CTTE, Relayer and 'Awaken' are all-time

Sorry what is 'FAP'.

VDGG...haven't really investigated...they're waiting for me when I get back from uni I guess. There is a draconian upload/download cap, so no mediafire or torrents.

The signature Van der Graaf Generator sound in the 1970s was a combination of Peter Hammill's distinctive and dynamic voice and David Jackson's electronically-treated saxophones, generally playing over thick chordal keyboard parts (such as Hammond organ and/or clavinet). The band explored the complete range of phonaesthetics from euphony to cacophony, often within the same song[1]. Van der Graaf Generator albums tended to be darker in atmosphere than many of their prog-rock peers (a trait they shared with King Crimson, whose guitarist Robert Fripp guested on two of their albums), and guitar solos were the exception rather than the rule.

Okay this sounds awesome.

it is 'Fancy A Pint' and happens when London ILXors meet up IRL, usually for a drink. it is absolutely terrifying and usually someone is scarred for life.

VDGG released 5 absolutely stone-dead phenomenal albums in a row and plenty afterwards that reached the same heights - they're one of my 3 or 4 favourite bands ever - they're just the best. so much more than prog.

HAHAHAH, more IRL stuff this, but how do you know I've frequented some of the more Poptimism/FAP meetups? Or maybe you don't and I'm misreading you. Either way sounds cool.

i know you've done Poptimism (which I haven't, really, year-end pub-crawls apart) but every so often there's a general London FAP, which is generally a miserable and entirely fruitless experience which i thoroughly dissuade you from

anyway yeah sorry for the (affectionate) name-flood, if you want it googleproofed i'll make a mod req

Yeah i changed my name to something else for a reason, not that I'm too frightened of a distant aunt finding me writing guff on Max Tundra.

considering we are mad keen max tundra fans who live in london you'd have thought the dude might bro down w/ us or at least let us watch him sequence a synth with faces of awe

looooooool mod edit makes it look like we're gettin' worked up over my claim that prog is in

which is probably not far off how it should be tbh :/ :D

Yes Reunite With Producer Trevor Horn for New Album

Quintessential prog-rockers Yes have announced that they have reunited with legendary producer Trevor Horn for their highly anticipated new album, 'Fly From Here.' The album marks the band's first studio album in ten years.

The album originated from a conversation between Horn and Yes bassist Chris Squire, who re-discovered the song 'Fly From Here' and realized that it had never been recorded in a studio. "Chris and I were talking one evening about the song 'Fly From Here' that we never recorded," explains Horn. "I said I was prepared to spend two weeks with Yes recording that song. When I arrived in America to record it, I was taken prisoner by the band and only allowed my freedom again in return for producing the whole album. It was an offer I couldn't refuse!"

'Fly From Here' retains Yes' signature brand of mysticism and large-scale compositions. The record contains plenty of the complex arrangements, beautiful harmonies, and heavy riffs the band is known for. "The new album represents the best of Yes from the '70s and the '80s with a current twist," said Squire.

Keyboardist Geoff Downes, who originally joined the band for 1980's 'Drama,' has also re-joined the band for the new album. Yes now consists of guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Downes, and lead singer Benoit David.

'Fly From Here' will be released on Frontiers Records in July 2011.

Never mind that, just show the photo:

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.noisecreep.com/media/2011/03/yesrobshanahan.jpg

Who's the grandma in the middle? And what's Camilla Parker-Bowles doing there (standing behind grandma's left shoulder)?

Steve Howe - still the ugliest man in rock n' roll. Who's the youngster on the right??

Yes and the Buggles? There'll be a whole lot of whipping for sure.

"The new album represents the best of Yes from the '70s and the '80s with a current twist," said Squire.

Please tell me the "twist" is dubstep

Who's the youngster on the right?

The new singer. They recruited him from a Yes cover band.

and the floating head in the center!?

Howe really is frightful and cadaverous looking.

Thats already been posted to the "show me old me who look like lesbians" thread, right?

As cool as Steve Howe is, I wish Trevor Rabin was in the lineup this goaround too.

http://media.theonion.com/images/articles/article/835/onion_news2003_jpg_600x1000_q85.jpg

God what a shame this is. Count me out of this while I go fire up Relayer.

xpost

sounds like drama pt. ii. can't help but be a little curious

Trevor Horn needs to lay off the pies. Woah.

i've been playing 'close to the edge' a lot recently.

how is it that the bruford-era yes rhythm section is so awesome? seems like it shouldn't have been that hard for other bands to replicate driving off-beat stuff.

like getting together with your girlfriend from 150 years ago 'just for the sex', here comes the new album by YES

oh god I just posted that

and I guess that the fact that I actually want to hear this record probably makes it okay

now bringing up itunes to play 'it can happen'

you can feed the soul apart!
you reach!

why people feel guilty about listening to 40-year old rock bands but don't think twice about watching 50-year old movies or 100-year old books is beyond me

i guess most people read not watch books, but still

As per teh floatin' grandpa head in teh middle o'photo, my educated guess is - must be Nero Wolfe, surely.

It's Trevor Horn in the middle, guys.

There is good to be found in just about every genre EXCEPT 70's prog

wish I could go back in time and SB....

Alan White is a dead ringer for Douglas Adams

why people feel guilty about listening to 40-year old rock bands but don't think twice about watching 50-year old movies or 100-year old books is beyond me

I dunno if it's because they're old, I think it's because they're Yes...they weren't even cool back then, but now??

i think the world is ready for anderson bruford moraz banks

i dunno, i find ELP so much more interesting in that regard
the "Emerson, Lake and Powell" album sounds like something straight out of Spinal Tap

how is it that the bruford-era yes rhythm section is so awesome?

http://i52.tinypic.com/2rz3vp2.jpg

MAN - IN - A - WHITE - CAAAAAaaaaarrrrrr

Yes, who canceled the last three shows of their European tour in December due to the illness of lead singer Benoit David, have named Jon Davison as David's replacement for their spring tour of Australia, New Zealand and beyond.

Davison is the lead singer of Glass Hammer, a progressive rock band from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

From Yes' official website and Facebook page:

"Jon Davison will join Yes as lead vocalist for the upcoming dates in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Indonesia and Hawaii. Yes really appreciate Jon Davison joining them for this leg of the tour and are sure this arrangement will satisfy all Yes fans."

GOING FOR THE ONE!

at least this faux-anderson can hit the notes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am_Sszp3q54

I tend to find Anderson the most obvious thing about he band that I dislike. Wonder if I'd feel different if he had a lower voice.
Plus the band seems too busy and I' prefer them more spacious.
But still there's a couple of very interesting lps there in the early 70s, or maybe I should say the first 5 are ok if you can get over Anderson.
& the remastering from 5 years or so ago has even made him more palatable.

I saw the local uber-cover band do a night of Yes, and I was struck by two things. 1) Yes, this music is astoundingly busy and 2) Some of the complexities of the music are so conspicuous that you just know the band made it more complex on purpose to show off - "Hey, let's add another two beats before the vocals come in again!" "Let's all play in different time signatures!" - which is what makes the band so easy to dislike. I get the impression Yes more than most prog bands actually believes that more technical skill is objectively superior to less technical skill. That is, I can imagine Steve Howe (who is an incredible guitarist) searching the ranks of "Best Guitarists Ever" list, and wondering why he falls several rankings below, say, Johnny Ramone.

the answer is because those lists are all awful

and i have no idea how you could listen to early yes and arrive at the above opinion

I like the showoffy bits! Like in "Sound Chaser" where they play that main line at like six different tempos is really cool. IMO the "complex just for the sake of this being prog" is more of a Gentle Giant thing. Also, Yes tends to suck when they're NOT showing off (see: Tales)

I like (early) Yes just fine. But that's, like, two or three albums out of a hell of a lot of music. I was just struck by how insanely complicated it was. I mean, my friend in the band, a guitarist, who can literally play anything, thought it was harder than doing Steely Dan. They had to bring in a ringer for some of the guitar stuff, and the ringer didn't even need to use charts. He did it all from memory! They joked that when they did CCR he needed all the guitar parts transcribed.

Gentle Giant, btw, I always thought was more ... pastoral? A la Genesis.

maybe on their later albums, all I've heard is the early stuff which certainly has some "prog it up" moments. I don't know if the criticism really applies to Yes - I've always thought they were just a good rock band that just wrote longer, more complex tunes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF1yFRrVPqU&feature=related

Looks like Golum!

I probably posted this in another thread, but I once passed a venue in Philadelphia, I think it was the TLA, and on the marquee it said "Jon Anderson: Work In Progress," and I thought to myself that Jon Anderson is probably the only rock musician pompous enough to perform a "work in progress" for an audience, like as though people in the mid 2000s were so eager to hear what this genius was up to that they'd pay for a preview of an unfinished work.

as someone who doesnt even play music, i still find "close to the edge" a really nice listen, like if theres nothing i want to hear ill usually put it on and it does the trick, great music for a road trip tbh

frogbs is wrong. Tales is awesome.

Stevolende is wrong. Jon's vox sounded good. If you don't like the vox then you've come barking up the wrong thread. You can't be a Yes fan if you don't like Jon's vocals.

I've never once considered Yes as a band that is just showing off like a tuneless Yngwie Malmsteen. They made solid songs that make sense.

Close to the Edge is great and I still think it sounds better on my slightly warped cassette in the car than it does on CD.

Key to Yes vocal greatness is the combination of Jon Anderson and Chris Squire singing together.

They made solid songs that make sense.

I love "I've Seen All Good People," but how does the country-boogie breakdown make any sense whatsoever?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H49r9y5eEU

I can imagine Steve Howe (who is an incredible guitarist) searching the ranks of "Best Guitarists Ever" list, and wondering why he falls several rankings below, say, Johnny Ramone.

I would wonder about this too. I don't think you need to fetishize complexity to question it: what makes Johnny Ramone one of the best guitarists ever? If you'd picked someone like the Edge or someone like Clapton, I could see where you were coming from (and I think Howe could too).

I do think that much of what Yes did was tightly composed and doesn't just sound flashy or wilfully complex to me, e.g. on Close to the Edge.

exactly. Close to the Edge (the entire record, not just the song) is amazingly tight as a whole

No one would ever doubt the "tightness" of Yes.

When Yes is tight, it might be gross

Howe is subtle, I think. If he's falling low on lists like that, it might actually be that he's a little underrated.

Even when he's subtle he's awfully prodigious. So, yeah, subtle in that it doesn't always sound like flash, but the dude rarely takes the easy road. But, like, Steve Hackett - that dude is subtle.

Steve Howe is a master of coming up with unobtrusive rhythm parts that you will never be able to figure out how to play

we've never had a Steve Hackett thread, huh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt1_g8zVf1o&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONm1gNPWq9g

Man that Fish Out of Water LP is fantastic

^^^^^

Something I really appreciate about Howe is that he is one guy who has been able to integrate elements of the classical guitar tradition into the rock idiom. There's this huge, rich tradition with a technical approach that's pretty fundamentally different from how most blues/jazz/pop guitarists approach the instrument that's just there, begging to be drawn on. Yet hardly anyone does, even the metal guys who talk about their classical training. (And of course Howe doesn't limit himself to that tradition! He's just as comfortable throwing in some country picking or ripping out a heavy fusion solo.)

Really? Fish Out of Water. Hm, it's got Bruford and Moraz on it. I'll look for it.

howe is totally awesome, one of my favorite guitar dudes

xpost, Yeah, but those prog guys, from Genesis to even early Rush, were all about busting out the classical moves; that's one element that made them so hated by the punks, not just their technical proficiency but the fact that they showed it off by way of the most staid and stuffy tradition. And some of the worst metal guys are the ones that do incorporate classical elements. Search anddestroy one Yngwie Malmsteen. Obviously someone like Richard Thompson is as good as Howe, but without the taint of prog (as much as I like prog, and Steve Howe's playing!).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpEWNVy0bYI

Most of the 'classical moves' in prog and metal don't really seem to have that much to do with the actual Spanish (or even English)-derived fingerpicked tradition on the nylon-stringed classical guitar though. I'm not a classical guitar professional but my training is in classical guitar and most shred-metal guys don't do what I (try to) do: more like Bach or Paganini melodies transcribed for a flatpicked style.

In the case of Hackett, I just don't think he sounded like a very good classical player on something like "Horizons". (Seriously, look up any professional - or even student - performance of the Bach prelude he's quoting.) Howe actually played like someone who understood the tradition, could comfortably work within it and create original work in it (at a higher level of, yes, difficulty than "Stairway to Heaven" or the intro to "Farewell to Kings") and actually integrate it into rock music.

(What makes classical music staid and stuffy btw?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlXlaOeYl2c

(Not my favourite performance but a perfectly good one that is available on Youtube)

After posting all of that, I'm thinking back on Yes and wondering how much of Howe's fingerpicking and contrapuntal guitar technique was actually coming from folk and country rather than classical. There's "Mood for a Day" and bits of "Roundabout" of course... will need to pull those records out again...

(Really like Richard Thompson too, btw!)

I think Howe is on record as being massively influenced by country music.

Sund4r OTM, most of what is being referred to as 'classically influenced' prog or metal electric gtr playing is basically guitarists imitating virtuoso violinists. There is precious little drawn from classical guitar technique.

Also, Gentle Giant are the wrong whipping boy upthread. They may have been complex (in a way that was GENUINELY influenced by classical and baroque music) but they were very tight, tight in the way that Discipline era KC was tight.

(What makes classical music staid and stuffy btw?

Oh, not my perspective, necessarily, just from historical accounts of the '70s anti-Yes et al. punk perspective, I meant. There is also so much class tied in to classical music (and opera) that it is made even more inaccessible, more sobby, beyond its innate technical challenges. That is, to invoke a yardstick like "Howe plays beautifully, like a trained classical guitarist" is to add yet another reason for folks to blow raspberries. It's kind of a classical equivalent of rockism.

Personally, I hear more folk in Howe than classical, which is why I mentioned Thompson. Except Thompson, for all his virtuosity, still knows how to embrace the simplicity of, say, Buddy Holly. Dunno if I can say the same for Howe. I often wonder if Howe could even play "Wild Thing" or "You Really Got Me," start to finish, not because he can't but because he just couldn't. You know?

Doesn't his playing in Asia show that he, in fact, can? Or go back to his playing in Tomorrow.

Yeah, Tomorrow.

His first recording was a Chuck Berry cover with a group called the Syndicats.

Like I said, I know he can. And Asia represented a nadir of the square peg into round hole trend of '70s prog bands dumbing themselves down for '80s pop success. It's ironic that Howe would show such distaste for the dumb riff of "Owner of a Lonely Heart" yet still proceed with Asia. Has anyone heard the GTR record he did with Hackett that just got reissued?

SHT

(that was the actual Musician magazine review of GTR)

And "When the Heart Rules the Mind" seemed to be on the radio a lot when it was released. It was like a bland(er) version of Asia.

Now that I think about it, "Three Jolly Little Dwarfs" is my favorite Tomorrow song and I remember Howe saying he didn't like it. It was certainly one of their simpler tunes. Don't know how that would reflect on his opinion of "Wild Thing" or "You Really Got Me," though!

Disagree with the characterization of Asia. Wetton has proved over the course of his career that his Asia songwriting was not some intentional dumbing down - like that's genuinely his style.

(OK, official Steve Howe perspective on "Three Jolly Little Dwarfs" - "It's my least-favorite song; I used to love it. I used to like playing it, but it's actually one of the most trivial things we ever did, and I don't like the radio version--in fact I don't think I like any version of that song much.")

OK, so I guess what I like is how Howe integrated a contrapuntal guitar style into a loud electronic rock aesthetic with a certain level of finesse. You may actually be right that there was more folk than classical in it, although the classical influences are certainly apparent.

Oh, not my perspective, necessarily, just from historical accounts of the '70s anti-Yes et al. punk perspective, I meant. There is also so much class tied in to classical music (and opera) that it is made even more inaccessible, more sobby, beyond its innate technical challenges. That is, to invoke a yardstick like "Howe plays beautifully, like a trained classical guitarist" is to add yet another reason for folks to blow raspberries. It's kind of a classical equivalent of rockism.

But what if he does? I could see how it would be elitist (it would be the opposite of 'rockism' surely!) if I'd said "Howe is a much better player than ... because he had some classical chops" but all I said was that I like that Howe did this. Doesn't mean I have anything against other approaches.

Btw, I know what punk guys - who were after all trying to market their own music - said in the 70s but I'm not sure why I should care in 2012, any more than I care that people thought ragtime promoted immorality 100 years ago or that my Dad thought Nirvana was poisoning the youth in 1994.

I'm not even sure why it's important whether or not Howe could play "You Really Got Me", especially when I'm not too concerned about whether the Kinks could play "Sound Chaser".

None of it is important, least of all Yes, terribly.

OK, sorry if I overreacted. So your point is just that Howe takes the harder, less-travelled route each time and seems like the sort who wouldn't feel right just laying down something basic? May have a point there. (Although what about that riff on "Roundabout"?)

Yeah, basically. And some of Yes's complexity - and this is Yes the unit, not just Howe - seems to be complicated just for the sake of being complicated. Which I think of as detrimental, personally, though at its best the band knows how to arrange the flurry of notes pretty presentably.

complicated just for the sake of being complicated

Well, which pieces strike you this way? As I said, I'd definitely disagree when it comes to anything on Close to the Edge.

(But e.g. I put on Fragile today and I could maybe see where you were coming from with the bonus track version of "America". And "Heart of the Sunrise" has some of their best moments but the overall composition could possibly be tightened a little.)

What the what

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/jeffersons-star-sherman-hemsley-had-lsd-lab-recorded-002809921.html

who said the entire Yes catalogue was that difficult to play??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WBrgCUBAHcg#!

http://cruisetotheedge.com/

http://cruisetotheedge.com/imgs/artists/zebra_slide.jpg

BAND AND ARTIST PERFORMANCES, MAIN THEATER
Enjoy special band and artist performances designed just for the cruise…the earlier you book, the better your seat! You won’t believe the sound and site lines in our grand three-level theater!

STORYTELLER PERFORMANCES
Bonus performances by selected bands and artists featuring history, back-stories, music and more! Once again…the earlier you book, the better your seat!

ACOUSTIC LOUNGE AND PROG JAM STAGE
Enjoy an array of guest band and artist performances in one of the many venues around the MSC Poesia, including the Acoustic Lounge and the Prog Jam Stage. These intimate venues bring you up close and personal with Prog Rock legends like you’ve never experienced!

OPEN AIR, POOL PROG STAGE
Enjoy daily evening sail away concerts plus unforgettable nighttime concerts with sights, sounds and lighting you will not believe! Party until the wee hours with our superstar guests plus new friends you’ll meet on this amazing voyage!!

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MEET & GREET PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES (SELECTED ARTISTS)
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BEHIND THE MUSIC
Join our resident Progressive Rock Historian for a walk down memory lane and get the “back-stories” of the bands that made Prog Rock History. Entertaining, informative with lots of great stories about some of the genres most famous players.

can't decide whether this wd be amazing or voyage of the damned, leaning toward the latter but that might be early morning misanthropy, plus hating fans

I love Yes, but this looks hellish

Reminds me of Goth Cruise:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLVcCsjOWv4

Yoshida rules. Surprised they didn't end it with "owner of a lonely heart", though.

Chris Squire and Steve Howe take you on a tour through the guitars/effects/amps they're using on tour right now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsGjl6kP0SI

I don't know what it is, but every time the organ and bass kick in on the end of the first part of 'I've Seen All Good People', it just gets to me every damn fucking time.

^^^that bit is absolutely amazing, yes

all we are saying is "give peace a chance!"

i've heard that song 30-some times before i even noticed that

don't surround yourself with yourself

http://i40.tinypic.com/2ilypts.jpg

YES, the iconic and Grammy-winning rock band, released their new studio album HEAVEN & EARTH today (7/22) on Frontiers Records.

This can't be any good, can it?

Yes - Heaven and Earth (2014)

So I am about to dig into this box set with seven gigs within a three week period in 1972 with the exact same setlist and I am totally excited.

let me know how it is. I don't know if I have the time for all that.

Listening to Toronto, Maple Leaf Gardens, Oct 31st '72, enjoying it so far and it's sounding great, kinda rough around the edges in a good way, but there's something cool about a modern mix of material recorded decades ago.

Set list.

Opening/Siberian Khatru
I've Seen All Good People
Mood For A Day/Clap (not sure I'm up for checking out all the versions of this tbh)
Heart Of The Sunrise
And You & I
Close To The Edge
Excerpts From 'The Six Wives Of Henry VIII'
Roundabout
Yours Is No Disgrace

oof:

From the Official Yes Facebook page:

YES BASSIST AND CO-FOUNDING MEMBER CHRIS SQUIRE
TO UNDERGO TREATMENT FOR LEUKEMIA

Grammy Award-winning bass guitarist, vocalist, and founding member of YES, Chris Squire, has been diagnosed with Acute Erythroid Leukemia (AEL), an uncommon form of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Chris will be receiving treatment in his hometown of Phoenix over the next few months.

YES will be honouring their commitment to their North American summer tour with Toto, as well as confirming their performances on Cruise to the Edge in November.

Chris's role in the band will be covered by YES alumnus Billy Sherwood.

To quote Chris: "This will be the first time since the band formed in 1968 that YES will have performed live without me. But the other guys and myself have agreed that Billy Sherwood will do an excellent job of covering my parts and the show as a whole will deliver the same YES experience that our fans have come to expect over the years."

damn.

serious bummer. get well soon mr. squire!

Hope he gets better too.

I do wonder what members they'd have to lose to stop the band. Maybe if Squire and Howe were gone.

Squire is the only player to appear on every Yes album. He's the linchpin of the whole operation.

That's why I thought the band wouldn't have gone on without him.

Man.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPfgqPcF-BE

Sad news

I'm not sure what it would take to stop Yes at this point. These lineups keep getting stranger and stranger. Hopefully Squire gets better soon, dude is a living legend

While we're on the subject (of their constantly shifting lineups etc.)...I ranked all their albums (studio and live) for Stereogum. It took me, like, two months.

did not know that Davison was literally in a Yes tribute act...I thought you were getting a dig on Glass Hammer!

whoa, that's an awesome list! i'd rank the ladder and fly from here above ABWH though -- they're growers, swear

I'm a huge Tormato fan so I disagree on that but it's an interesting list.

I went in wanting/expecting to like Tormato more than I did...usually, when albums show up on a ton of "Worst Ever" lists it's knee-jerk snarky bullshit, but I really didn't like it at all. It made me sad.

9012Live: The Solos (1985)

Oh my god, this sounds horrific.

Excellent list!

Relistening to "Yesshows" now. I forgot how great they sound on this.

I was just curious to see where Relayer placed. List didn't disappoint!

http://prog.teamrock.com/features/2015-05-21/steve-howe-chooses-his-favourite-yes-music

Over the years when we were working on material we could look back and ask, what would we have done with this in the days of Close To The Edge? Maybe sometimes we didn’t ask that question enough.

hah, you said it

I like his choices!

Re-listened to Keystudio after reading the top man's list. I think you were way too kind on that one, ttm.

Does anyone else feel like Drama might be like, the second or third best Yes record?

Some people do (although I am not one of them).

It's a lot of fun, it really taken by surprise but tracks 4 and 5 really damage the album for me.

I think Drama holds together really well overall. Top 5 for me. My order of preference is

5. Drama
4. CTTE
3. Topographic
2. Yessongs
1. Going For The One

Seems clear from interviews I've seen that Horn at least was a big Yes fan before he got involved, and of course he was pretty clutch in extending Yes' life into the 80's anyway, in a production capacity, but I feel like losing Howe and bringing in Rabin made 90125 a jarring enough change to kind of signal the end of Yes-proper, while Drama somehow seemed a more natural evolution, even without Anderson/Wakeman...

I guess I just mean to say that I think Horn is the more "proggier" of the Trevors and I would have liked to have seen what he might have done with a couple more Yes records, also does anyone know what Buggles fans thought of Drama when it came out?

Just finished listening to 90125. It's surprisingly great for the most part.

Two main problems though: (1) the singing section of "Changes" totally ruins what would have been a brilliant instrumental, the verses too cheesy for the track and the chorus is terrible, totally uncharacteristic of the band (2) Trevor Rabin's lyrics singing part (nothing wrong with his a capella parts) in "Leave It" feels really out of place to me, particularly the suggestive "do you know what I mean?" line.

But in general "Changes", "Leave It" (hope they did more like these two later on), "It Can Happen", "Cinema", "City Of Love" (fantastic crunchy heaviness) and "Hold On" (mostly for the amazing Anderson/Squire duet) are great. Remaining three others are not bad.

The 2 Rabin bonus tracks are brilliant, I could imagine Ariel Pink doing these. Some of Rabin's guitar parts are actually quite like Howe, here and there on the album

Really digging into the new live box now that it's out, one show per day. The first one - Toronto, Halloween 1972 - is great. During Wakeman's solo, there's interference from a local radio station; you can hear a DJ talking about Chuck Mangione, and then a snippet of staticky music at the end.

I've got a hold of the new box as well and am a little disappointed in the sound mix for the first few shows I've listened to. Wakeman and White are pretty low and Anderson, Howe waaaay up there in the mix. Not really being wowed by the performances in any particular way, either. They are fantastic but sort of lacking some of the fire that's there on some of "Yessongs" and any number of boots. I hope they REALLY crank in the next shows :)

Ah wait! This Greensboro, NC show smooookes.

Are the Going For The One bonus tracks worthwhile? It's one of the few I didn't get the version with bonus tracks.

yeah they're kind of cool

Surely the correct answer to Yes is No!!!! ????

hahaha!

http://www.dartforums.com/forum/attachments/dodge-dart-general-discussion-forum/234d1341238007-question-all-great_post.jpg

As I was saying on the King Crimson thread, I braced myself for disappointment with Tormato, Topographic, Drama and 90125 but ended up loving them all despite reservations about various flaws (apart from Tormato which I just plain love). All this reinforces my feeling that even when Yes were doing their second or third best, it's as good as a lot of my other favourite bands greatest works.

I had never heard much strong opinions either way about their debut album but it's a very pleasant surprise, it's amazing! I think it's actually one of their most consistently great albums. I adore the majority of the tracks, just so many great moments in them. "Yesterday And Today" is possibly the prettiest love song I've heard Anderson sing. Bonus tracks are great too, their cover of "Something's Coming" from West Side Story is so awesome.
If I have a quibble, it's that the framing parts for the brilliant "Harold Land" seem far too jaunty.

otm, tormato is highly weird but underrated

How is it that Topographic got grouped in with those other three

Topographic Oceans is the best Yes album and I'll fight any motherfucker that says otherwise

bring it

"the remembering (high the memory)" is almost as good as "close to the edge" and "the gates of delirium"

Topographic has some of their best moments but I'm pretty sure there is a large consensus that it's way too padded out. I think that's a bigger obstacle than anything in the other albums.

Had my mind blown listening to the 1974 live in New Jersey gates of delirium yesterday. The idea that there were concertgoers who probably witnessed this AND Crimson in Central Park that year is completely insane.

The "Relayer..." part on Side 2 of Tales is one of my favorite bits in their whole catalogue. It really is an impressive album, but like most good doubles there's really only an hour's worth of ideas there. Side 3 kinda bites it. The rest is pretty good.

No praise for the debut album? I feel like I'm the only person who has heard it but I'm sure most of you have too. It just never gets mentioned.

The debut's OK. I like Time and a Word better, though.

I've actually never heard a note of Yes before The Yes Album.

God, I love Close To The Edge so much. And the songs on Fragile that aren't solo jams (Squire's excepted, of course, because "The Fish" rules)

I read that before the late 90s remastering, the debut sounded a bit rough in the mix/production. Maybe that explains some of the lack of fanfare?
I'm so impressed that even at that point their sound could be really huge, like the vocals at the end of "Looking Around" sounding like they are coming from the sky. And most of the tracks already have their heavy dynamism.

How can I be 47 and just entering my first prog phase!

"survival" is a choice jam from the debut. first song overall is as on point a statement of purpose as "good times bad times" is on zep i. there's some other good stuff (and on 'time and a word' too) but yes isn't YES for a whole album (for me at least) until steve howe replaced peter banks. those dudes were mercenary about ditching members in favor of "the best" but from 'the yes album' - 'relayer' (with some padding like people are saying on 'tales') they were on fire. and it's not like 'going for the one' is slouchy either. they kind of lose it on 'tormato' but then 'drama' and 90125 both slay. all in all a really solid run from 1969 - 1983 (with two killer live albums -- 'yessongs' and 'yesshows') ripe for major listening pleasure imho. it's almost a favor critics did by burying them so they've taken on an added underdog appeal

I think their revolving door policy probably had its limits. I doubt the band ever would have booted Squire, Anderson, Wakeman, Howe, Bruford and a few other guys for someone they thought was better. One exception might be Anderson due to his health/vocal problems but all the other members left to do other things.

That box set of their first 12 studio albums (all bonus tracks included) would be such a great gift. Wish I could have experienced it that way.

I think more than them being underrated for years, not being too familiar from tv/radio (aside from "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" of course) really helps.

Still so impressed by the debut album. Definitely one of my favourite things this year.

Pretty much a damn shame that Peter Banks was cut from the Yes story after his two records, of course Steve Howe is great but ain't nothing wrong with Peter Banks. Like they couldn't even be bothered to invite him to a Union era show to play Astral Traveler or something. Smh

Banks was at the LA show on the Union tour but Howe didn't want him on stage:
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130613004441AAv0Zci

http://forgotten-yesterdays.com/dates.asp?ftype=1&qdec=1990&qdateid=1954

PETER BANKS INTERVIEW by Jeff Hunnicutt
Copyright © 1994 Notes From The Edge #113/Jeff Hunnicutt and Mike Tiano.
All rights reserved.
(Used with permission)
JH: It was been said that you were invited to play a date on the Union tour. Is that true?

PB: Well......I've told this story before. No the only thing was I was going to play the Forum in Los Angeles. I was asked by Tony Kaye would I like to play on a couple of tunes, the encore pieces, and I said yes, absolutely. My one stipulation was that it would not be kind of rehearsed or that no big deal was made of it, so it was kind of a spontaneous thing. So I was literally just going to be sitting in and they all agreed to that. I'll keep a long boring story very short, but come the day of the gig, after people were calling me about backstage passes, this thing had been announced on the radio. So all of a sudden it had become some sort of a big deal. Which I was really not pleased about and then what did happen was I didn't get to play and the reason was Steve Howe didn't want me to play. So I was extremely upset about this and I just thought it was kind of crazy because the other guys wanted me to. It was only two tunes at the end of the set, two encore pieces, Roundabout and Starship Trooper. So I kind of showed up. I didn't even want to bring a guitar. The whole premise was that there'd be a amplifier there, a guitar there, and a roadie to guide me to the stage. All I'd have to do is play. I mean no problem. There's no way it could have been competetive having never played with that particular lineup. There's no way I would have sounded particularly great but that wasn't the idea. I just wanted to do it for the fun of it but Steve Howe was dead against it so I didn't get to do it. I was very angry about it and was ready to hit somebody. Preferably Steve Howe. So..that was that (laughs).

JH: So it's safe to say you've never played with Steve Howe?

PB: I hardly know the guy actually. I've met him maybe two or three times.

JH: It's unusual he would feel that way.

PB: I was very surprised. I don't what the reason was at all. At the time I was very angry. From a simple little idea of me come sitting in with the band it all became a very big deal. People were coming up to me in the backstage bar asking me when I was going on. I had to say, well I'm not going on and it was all very unpleasant. I felt kind of insulted you know, but that was that.

-----

STEVE HOWE INTERVIEW by Mike Tiano
Copyright © 1994 Notes From The Edge #125/Jeff Hunnicutt and Mike Tiano.
All rights reserved.
(Used with permission)
MOT: We did interview Peter for an issue a while back and he told us he was invited to play at the L.A. Forum UNION show by some of the other members and he was even reluctant to do so but seemed to agree because the other members wanted him to do it. But the night of the show he showed up and apparently from what he said you were the one who prevented him from actually doing so. What's the story from you on this?

SH: (chuckles) I've never heard anything about that at all. I don't remember being asked if Peter could join us, I'm absolutely sure I wouldn't have minded; what songs he was going to play on, and what was going to happen, I couldn't imagine. But I don't remember ever considering that, I'm sure if somebody if somebody said to me, look, Peter can come up and play I would have said, oh, what's he going to play, where's he going to play, and he's not going to play all night obviously, but where's he going to play? What song?

MOT: From what he said he was going to just play on the encore, 'Roundabout' and 'Starship Trooper'.

SH: (chuckles) I don't remember blanking that, and I'm laughing because it's incredible how the past comes back at you, but this isn't a bit of my past as far as I remember, no. I don't know anything about that, I don't remember anything about it...I don't see why I would have objected; there wasn't any problem between Peter and I...it would have been unusual for Yes to have anybody guest, I think that was very, very rare...did we ever have anybody guest with us? Not very often.

MOT: To be honest from you Peter was quite blatant; he said that 'I was told that Steve Howe prevented my from playing this show.'

SH: Well I'd love to know who actually told him that, because whoever that person was should talk to me, and I would like to talk to them, because it doesn't make any reasonable sense of why I'd do that.

http://images.athlonsports.com/d/43909-1/OJ_Simpson.jpg

(chuckles)

On that dvd Peter Banks said he was with Billy Connolly in the bar and Howe briefly walked in, they saw each other and Howe walked out again looking afraid.
But also remember that Banks was shouting at the band from the front as they were playing.

Still so impressed by the debut album. Definitely one of my favourite things this year.

I had never heard it but I saw a used vinyl copy a month or so ago and got curious and bought it -- yeah it's pretty great!

I hope it's the remaster because apparently the original sounds really bad.

a banks howe rabin guitar trio would rule. too bad about LA. yes is pretty ruthless about who's in and who's out considering the name of the band

Yes circa 1969: Jon Anderson, Peter Banks, Chris Squire, Tony Kaye, Bill Bruford.

Yes circa 2015: Jon Davison, Steve Howe, Billy Sherwood, Geoff Downes, Alan White.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the prog Sugababes.

lmao @ that interview above

kinda wonder what it would take to do 'em in right now - they've got shows booked until 2016 and they've said stuff like "Chris wanted us to go on", but it seems like White is on his last legs (Howe is obviously going to live forever), and you wonder how long Sherwood and Downes are going to want to keep playing in this band

Anderson, Rabin, and Wakeman to tour together as "ARW" - or as they call it "the definitive Yes lineup" (actually...now that Squire's gone it kinda is??)

there really is no stopping this band is there

2019: Union II? Make it happen, boys!!

begs the question who the leader of "Yes" might be now that Squire is gone. Howe? White? Sherwood? a manager?

there really is no stopping this band is there

and howe!

Haha what happened to Anderson's band with JL Ponty? And I thought Wakeman was done with touring for health reasons? Could never stand Rabin. Big shrug.

same. if howe and anderson could work it out that would be the best, definitive, magical thing ever. im imagining tony levin on bass. o shit waddup.

Anderson's a busy guy - he's got a duo album with some other prog dude coming out next month.

Watched Wakeman presenting a BBC doc about concept albums. Wondering how he became a tv personality. He presented an early 80s show about music but I don't imagine that lead into all his non-music BBC work.

At one point he seemed to be a frequent guest on panel shows, if I remember correctly.

Still, it amazes me that this whole thing keeps on going. When Squire passed away, part of me genuinely thought that was the end of it.

When Squire passed away, part of me genuinely thought that was the end of it.

It should have been.

Well, yeah... I couldn't agree more!

ARW

you have to try to use those letters and not make a word

Well, they can't tour as "WAR", can they!?

Imagine a bunch of folks turning up to hear 'Lowrider' and instead getting a prog extravaganza fronted by an ageing pixie.

Although it'd be fun to hear 'em cover it... "Wahhh, I can't dance to this cowbell!"

XPS War can't even tour as WAR anymore!

squire asked a not-totally-yes member (downes? sherwood?) to take over the running of yes, but since teamrock has paywalled all its content i can't find the interview where this was claimed/announced

fingers crossed for bruford to come out of retirement, snag patrick moraz to form experimental prog jazz duo BM

wait scratch that, bruford comes out of retirement, snags wakeman and adrian belew for prog supergroup BBW

You were *this* close to BMW ( two keyboardists!)

^^^ would go see

Listening to the Jon Anderson/Roine Stolt (yeah, me either) album Invention of Knowledge and it's really good. Very '70s, very Yes - it sounds like a cross between the good parts of Tales from Topographic Oceans and Olias of Sunhillow. Definitely recommended.

That's very encouraging.

i'm digging it too. stolt is more in Kaipa than Flower Kings or Transatlantic mode

Stolt scares me in general but that description makes it sound really good, guess I'll pick this up

ok, I'm listening now. it's good. this is 100% what the new Yes album should've been.

yeah, it's certainly 100x better than the last Yes album. feel like it kind of got overshadowed with the news of the AWR stuff upcoming.

http://www.allmusic.com/album/invention-of-knowledge-mw0002945087

yeah I lke this record; maybe the equal of Fly From Here (which I think is excellent) and Magnification.

heaven and earth is dire

This is good...but just that. Jon sounds disengaged amid all the pomp and his voice is flagging. It's great that in 2015/16 someone decided to make a classic prog record that actually sounds GREAT but at the same time it's sad for me to listen to.

That said there's no need to even mention " Heaven And Earth" in the same breath as this. This is miles ahead.

heaven and earth is absolutely awful. far and away the worst thing Yes ever release, and I'm including Open Your Eyes and Talk in that list. An embarrassment of almost epic proportions. I hope they never record another new thing.

heaven and earth is just awful. hard to imagine there ever being another decent yes album, unless maybe trevor horn decides to become a full-fledged member again

i'm a little excited about the Anderson Wakeman Rabin thing now because of the Stolt collaboration, plus Rabin's last solo album rules

"Dear Father" is so great. A shame it never got to be a proper album track.

That's an early Yes song, not a new thing.

"Believe Again" from Heaven and Earth is fantastic, u guys are mad.

that is the only good song on that album. it's catchy but in an annoying way.

"To Ascend" is great, too imo.

goddamnit don't make me relisten to that album and reassess

"dear father" is on the first album (on the cds anyway). I did hear another version of it on youtube that was kind of shitty quality but a great performance

sorry, that is the version on the first album I guess. "in a word" has another more finished version

First album has two versions of it as bonus tracks and second album has the final version as a bonus track.

I think the first four songs on H&E are all decent, they're just soooooo overextended and boring

Time And A Word isn't as good as the first album but it's still very good. "Then" is really fantastic, but I wish the first section of the song was repeated at the end because it's so gorgeous. "Sweet Dreams" is really great too, great chorus. The second side of the album is weaker and the title track is an underwhelming ending. "Dear Father" should have been on it instead because it's one of the best pre-Fragile songs (although I don't think the studio version is as good as the earlier versions).

Man that Steven Wilson Topographic Oceans remix was pushed til Oct 7th I CAN'T WAIT DAMN IT!!!!!!

Holy smokes! I had no idea Topographic was coming! Wooooo-hooooo!!

New His Name Is Alive patches:

http://media1.fdncms.com/metrotimes/imager/u/original/2466903/patch.jpg

Man that Steven Wilson Topographic Oceans remix was pushed til Oct 7th I CAN'T WAIT DAMN IT!!!!!!

― kurt schwitterz, Thursday, September 29, 2016 11:20 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Oh god, I can. The weakest of the Yes Album to Going For The One run for me without a doubt.

ill fucking fight you

Okay, then!

*takes his jacket off*

i must've waited all my life for this.. moment *lunges towards you*

*moves out of the way and watches you crash headfirst into a batch of unwanted copies of Tales from Topographic Oceans, thus knocking yourself out*

Huh, that was easy. Usually I just need to play the record and it bores my opponent to death, but that takes until halfway through side 2 at the very least.

It's a bit of a shame in a way, because there's a lot of great musical ideas on that record in amongst the bloat. The rhythm section sound completely bored on the entire album, too.

i think it has some of chris' most subtle and sublime playing rather than his usually in your face style. alan white sounds bored because he always sounds bored and is a bad drummer.

It's weird, because Tales from Topographic Oceans was one of those records that I'd heard a lot about long before I'd actually heard it. You know the drill: it's long, it's overblown, it's a prime example of prog at its most self indulgent. Everything that I'd read or been told about the record was unanimously negative, but in a way it all piqued my curiosity... surely there must be something about this record that managed to turn off so many people, surely it must be some kind of absolutely mental record that was maybe a step too far for their audience?

Imagine my surprise then, when I listened got around to listening to the record and found it actually a bit... dull. Relayer actually sounds closer to what I imagined ...Topographic Oceans would sound like before I heard it, so it was an immense let down.

i like it better than Relayer

said it before, side/movement 2 of tales is almost as good "close to the edge" and "the gates of delirium". feel safe now!

To be fair, I'd cut much less out of side 1 and side 4 than I would side 2 and side 3.

side 2 has my favorite melodies and cosmic synth washes

side 4 would be perfect if they got rid of the drum solo

the strength of you seeing lies with you

I made some half-length, half-assed edits of TFTO a couple of years ago, they're up on Youtube somewhere. I probably cut the drum solo out, don't remember actually. I still had difficulty making any kind of coherent structure out of it, I suppose it should just be thought of as a series of musical moments strung one after the other.

I mean that's what all music is but you know what I'm saying

Your edit helped me get into the album more.

Listening to the Steven Wilson mix of Tales now. It's a nice clean mix, the drums in particular sound fantastic, but honestly it's not nearly the revelation his mixes of, say, King Crimson's Larks' Tongues in Aspic and Starless and Bible Black were. Plus, he returned to the vinyl running times, which means he cut off the two-minute intro to the first track that was added with the 2003 reissue, and that, frankly, is some bullshit. That intro gave the track and the album a slow build that was really nice.

Is it a bonus track now?

Nope, it's been memory-holed.

Intro or not the Tales remix/remaster sounds glorious

Hall of Fame, Class of 2017
http://yesworld.com/2016/12/yes-to-be-inducted-into-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-class-of-2017/

Nice.

It is crap they waited this long especially after Squier died. Screw that knick knack shop.

guessing ELP is gonna make it in next year

Can't wait to visit the Hall next year to see the collection of Yes' time signatures.

It is crap they waited this long especially after Squier died.

especially given how badly Squire seemed to want to get in. Idk if it matters much to the other members.

Now he's not wrong:

https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/811242090457866240

especially given how badly Squire seemed to want to get in. Idk if it matters much to the other members.

Per Rolling Stone interviewing Steve Howe:

How do you think Chris would feel about the Hall of Fame if he was still around?

I think he'd be really delighted. I think Chris valued this kind of feedback from the business more than all of us. He was really keen on that sort of thing. He always loved the feedback from the industry, and of course this is the big one. Chris would be very pleased.

Should add:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/yes-steve-howe-on-rock-hall-i-dont-regret-the-wait-w456816

I bet half of the members of Pearl Jam can't wait to jam with Journey, and the other half can't wait to jam with Yes.

Wakeman said he will not attend

curious to see if they reform in any manner since howe and anderson allegedly hate each other now; and whether bruford shows up and plays (doubt it)

What a perfect time to all get together and say "Thank you. We were, at various points, Yes. Thank you, and farewell."

Won't fucking happen, though.

LOL!

...and so the saga continues!

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/yes-feat-jon-anderson-trevor-rabin-rick-wakeman-announces-north-american-tour/

Yeah, and/but the other (Steve Howe, Alan White, various others) version is still on the road, too. This is gonna turn into a Goblin situation. Ugh.

Rock icons Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman have announced that effective immediately, they will officially be known as "YES featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman," which is the name they will be touring under in North America during the latter half of 2017.

"It's very simple," explains band founder and vocalist Jon Anderson. "The fans want it, we want it and it's our right to use the name. YES music is in our DNA!"

The weird thing is that Howe's Yes has no original members, Anderson's Yes does, and I thought Chris Squire's estate owned the name!?

YES music is in our DNA!

Ya, I hope their legal standing is weightier than this specific argument.

should recruit Tony Levin and Carl Palmer and become YELP

Lotsa issues on "Owner of a Lonely Heart" from the induction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa843_cTqGU

Well, technically Anderson should be able to call his band Yes, surely? He's a founding member, after all, not to mention the frontman for the band for the longest time.

damn how did alan white miss the 1 on the fucking solo? that dude has played the song 5 million times. shoulda let bruford up there and do the dual drummer thing.

i thought geddy on roundabout was really amazing and special!!!

I think that the hardcore Yes fans feel that White's drumming has deteriorated quite a bit in recent years. He's been able to keep up the pace of being able to play Yes' most complex pieces for decades, though. I bet Pbil Collins couldn't play the drum fills in 'The Musical Box' by the back end of the '80s.

well he's been ill and barely plays with them live anymore.

those performances just increase my respect for prince

I bet Pbil Collins couldn't play the drum fills in 'The Musical Box' by the back end of the '80s.

Dunno about the '80s, but by the late '90s he certainly couldn't, by his own admission:
http://www.genesis-news.com/c-The-Musical-Box-Phil-Collins-about-his-guest-performance-in-Geneva-s238.html

This is gonna turn into a Goblin situation. Ugh.

So long as it doesn't turn into a Union situation I'm alright with it.

Howe Yes announced that Anderson has a legal right to tour under this name so it sounds like this won't get litigous

I'm not particularly interested in Howe Yes without Squire and with Alan White still drumming, as much as I like Downes. I wish they'd called it a day after the relatively great Fly from Here. Interested to hear what Anderson Yes do when they record.

Yo cmon Downes sucks SO BAD live

and it's fucking ridiculous to have anyone else sing this stuff when Jon's voice is in such great shape. esp after we thought he was going to lose it!

oh yeah I know but I liked his work on Fly from Here.

yeah Anderson sounds great. everyone saying he was so ill and couldn't do it anymore.

I thought the singing was the weakest link in the "Roundabout" clip but it's p impressive for a 72yo dude.

I thought the drumming the the worst

anyway I posted this in the rush thread but billy sherwood posted a magnificent screed against wakeman the next morning, which even the Yes (official) FB page reposted; which is now mysteriously gone and he says his page was hacked, which is not very believable.

yah that was... weird. dude seemed so bitter. the audience loved rick and he was only up there for 3 minutes.

peeping into yesfans forum is some depressing shit. people seriously upset "this means there may not be a yes in 10-20 years out there"really dude? I'll give you, maybe, 7... but 10 years? 20? you really think they would be putting out an album and touring when some of these guys are in their 90s? Yes is over once Howe and Anderson are retired/dead. I don't want to see Yes featuring Igor Whatsit, Billy Sherwood, and Jon Davison

I don't even give Yes another decade, really... my feeling is that it'll all have folded within a decade.

But for now, I just think it's hilarious that the singer who got fired from Yes can now tour under the name Yes.

Listening to Close to the Edge this morning and the middle section of 'And You And I' still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.